pany. Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is my brother come?"

And he said "Thy mother!"

A mighty cry of joy went forth through all the star, because the mother was re-united to her two children. And he stretched out his arms and cried, "Oh, mother, sister and brother, I am here! Take me!" And they answered him, "Not yet!"—and the star was shining.

He grew to be a man, whose hair was turning gray, and he was sitting in his chair by the fireside, heavy with grief, and with his face bedewed with tears, when the star opened once again.

Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is my brother come?" And he said, "Nay, but his maiden daughter!" And the man who had been the child saw his daughter, newly lost to him, a celestial creature among those three, and he said: "My daughter's head is on my sister's bosom, and her arm is around my mother's neck, and at her feet is the baby of old time, and I can bear the parting from her, God be praised."—And the star was shining.

Thus the child came to be an old man, and his once smooth face was wrinkled, and his steps were slow and feeble, and his back was bent. And one night as he lay upon his bed, his children standing round, he cried, as he cried so long ago: "I see the star!"

They whispered one another, "He is dying." And he said, "I am. My age is falling from me like a garment, and I move towards the star as a child. And O, my Father, now I thank Thee that it has so often opened to receive those dear ones who await me!"

And the star was shining; and it shines upon his grave.

CHARLES DICKENS.

TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF CHARLES I.

[After Cromwell had by violence expelled from Parliament all who were hostile to his own views and those of his party, the remainder, including about fifty members, ordered that the king should be tried on a charge of treason against the people. A court was accordingly arranged for the purpose, consisting of one hundred and thirty-three members, among whom were the chief officers of the army, including Cromwell. It was presided over by John Bradshaw, and held its sessions at Westminster Hall. The following account is taken from Goldsmith's "History of England."]

THE king was now conducted from Windsor to St. James's, and the next day was brought before the high court to take

his trial. When he was brought forward, he was conducted by the mace-bearer to a chair placed within the bar. Though long detained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, he still sustained the dignity of a king; surveyed the members of the court with a stern and haughty air; and, without moving his hat, sat down, while the members also were covered. The charge was then read by the solicitor, accusing him of having been the cause of all the bloodshed which followed since the commencement of the war. At that part of the charge he could not suppress a smile of contempt and indignation. After the charge was finished, Bradshaw directed his discourse to the king, and told him that the court expected his answer.

The king, with great temper, entered upon his defense by denying the authority of the court. He represented that, having been engaged in a treaty with his two Houses of Parliament, and having finished almost every article, he expected a different treatment from that which he now received. He perceived, he said, no appearance of an Upper House, which was necessary to constitute a just tribunal. That he was himself the king and the fountain of law, and consequently, could not be tried by laws to which he had never given his assent; that having been intrusted with the liberties of the people, he would not now betray them, by recognizing a power founded in usurpation; that he was willing, before a proper tribunal, to enter into the particulars of his defense; but that before them he must decline any apology or plea of innocence, lest he should be considered as the betrayer of, and not a martyr for, the constitution.

Bradshaw, in order to support the authority of the court, insisted that they had received their power from the people, the source of all right. He pressed the prisoner not to decline the authority of the court, which was delegated by the Commons of England; and he interrupted and overruled the king in his attempts to reply. In this manner the king was three times produced before the court, and as often he persisted in declining its jurisdiction. The fourth and last time he was brought before the self-created tribunal. As he was proceeding thither he was insulted by the soldiers and the mob, who exclaimed, "Justice! justice! execution! execution!" but he continued undaunted. His judges, having now examined some witnesses, by whom it was proved

that the king had appeared in arms against the forces commissioned by Parliament, pronounced sentence against him.

The conduct of the king, under all these instances of lowbred malice, was great, firm, and equal. In going through the hall the soldiers and the rabble were again instigated to cry out, "Justice and execution!" They reviled him with the most bitter reproaches. Among other insults, one miscreant presumed to spit in the face of his sovereign. He patiently bore their insolence. "Poor souls," cried he, "they would treat their generals in the same manner for sixpence." Those of the populace who still retained the feelings of humanity, expressed their sorrow in sighs and tears. A soldier, more compassionate than the rest, could not help imploring a blessing on his royal head. An officer, overhearing him, struck the honest sentinel to the ground, before the king, who could not help saying that the punishment exceeded the offense.

After returning from this solemn mockery of justice, the unhappy monarch petitioned the House for permission to see his children, and desired the attendance of Dr. Juxon, Bishop of London, to assist in his private devotions. Both requests were immediately granted, and three days were allowed to prepare for the execution of the sentence. This interval was spent by Charles in the exercises of devotion, and in administering consolation to his unhappy family. During the progress of the trial, the French and Dutch ainbassadors vainly interceded in his behalf; and the Scots, who had set the first example of resistance to his authority, now remonstrated against the violence offered to his person and dignity. After his condemnation, the queen and the Prince of Wales wrote the most pathetic letters to the Parliament, but nothing could divert the stern regicides from their atrocious design. The king was confined in the palace of St. James, but the place selected for erecting the scaffold was the street before the palace of Whitehall. On the morning of the execution he rose early, and having spent some time in private devotion, received the sacrament from the hands of Bishop Juxon. He was then conducted on foot through the park to Whitehall, and partook of some slight refreshment. After a brief delay, he advanced to the place of execution, attended still by his friend and servant, Dr. Juxon, who used every exertion to soothe the last moments of his unfortunate master. The scaffold, which was covered with black, was guarded

by a regiment of soldiers, under the command of Colonel Tomlinson, and under it were to be seen a block, the axe, and two executioners in masks. The people, in immense crowds, stood at a great distance in dreadful expectation of the event. The king surveyed all these solemn preparations with calm composure; and as he could not expect to be heard by the people at a distance, he addressed himself to the few persons who stood around him.

He then justified his own innocence in the late fatal war; and observed that he had not taken arms till after the Parliament had shown the example. That he had no other object in his warlike preparations than to preserve that authority entire, which had been transmitted to him by his ancestors; but, though innocent toward his people, he acknowledged the equity of his execution in the eyes of his Maker. He owned that he was justly punished for having consented to the execution of an unjust sentence upon the Earl of Strafford. He forgave all his enemies, exhorted the people to return to their obedience, and acknowledged his son as his successor; and signed his attachment to the Protestant religion, as professed in the Church of England. So strong was the impression his dying words made upon the few who could hear him that Colonel Tomlinson himself, to whose care he had been committed, acknowledged himself a convert.

While he was preparing himself for the block, Bishop Juxon called out to him, "There is, sir, but one stage more, which, though turbulent and troublesome, is yet a very short one. It will soon carry you a great way. It will carry you from earth to heaven; and then you shall find, to your great joy, the prize to which you hasten, a crown of glory." "I go, replied the king, "from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can have place." "You exchange," replied the bishop, "a temporal for an eternal crown; a good exchange!"

Charles, having taken off his cloak, delivered his *George to the prelate, pronouncing the word "Remember!" Then he laid his neck on the block, and, stretching out his hands as a signal, one of the executioners severed his head from his body at a blow; while the other, holding it up, exclaimed, "This is the head of a traitor!" The spectators testified their horror of the sad spectacle in sighs, tears, and lamen

*A figure of St. George on horseback, worn by the knights of the Garter.

tations; the tide of their duty began to return; and each blamed himself either for active disloyalty to his king, or a passive compliance with his destroyers.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

EXECUTION OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.

[Mary Queen of Scots having given great offense to her subjects was deprived of her throne and imprisoned in Lochleven Castle. Escaping thence she took refuge in England, supposing that she would be kindly treated by her cousin Elizabeth, then the reigning queen. She had, however, offended the Queen of England by setting up a claim to the English throne on the ground of the alleged illegitimacy of Elizabeth, who was the daughter of Anne Boleyn. Instead therefore, of finding protection and hospitality, she was made a prisoner, and continued in captivity during nineteen years. In 1587, she was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, on a charge of being concerned in a conspiracy, the object of which was to take the life of Elizabeth. The following account of the execution is taken from Lingard's "History of England."]

MARY heard the announcement of her sentence with a serenity of countenance and dignity of manner, which awed and affected the beholders; but her attendants burst into tears and lamentations. After long and fervent prayer, the queen was called to supper. She ate sparingly; and before she rose from table, drank to all her servants; asking, at the same time, forgiveness of them, if she had ever spoken or acted toward them unkindly.

The last night of Mary's life was spent in the arrangement of her domestic affairs, the writing of her will and of three letters, and in exercises of devotion. In the retirement of her closet, with her two maids, she prayed and read alternately; and sought for support and comfort in reading the passion of Christ. About four she retired to rest; but it was observed that she did not sleep. Her lips were in constant motion, and her mind seemed absorbed in prayer. At the first break of day her household assembled around her. She read to them her will, distributed among them her clothes and money, and bade them adieu, kissing the women and giving her hand to kiss to the men. Weeping, they followed her into her oratory, where she took her place in front of the altar; they knelt down and prayed behind her.

In the midst of the great hall of the castle had been raised a scaffold covered with black serge, and surrounded with a low railing. Before eight, a message was sent to the queen, who replied that she would be ready in half an hour. At